Priyanka and Marco left Cohort HQ immediately after Kobick had dismissed them.  In Marco’s experience, cops with facial expressions similar to Priyanka’s headed straight for the nearest bar.  That would have suited him fine, but he doubted Priyanka had a regular watering hole.

“I feel like hitting the gym,” she said once they had arrived at her condo.

“Don’t let me stop you,” he said.

“I can’t.  I need to get started on my report.”

“So do I, but I’m not going to just yet.”

She was leaning against the kitchen counter, drawing knives halfway out of the block then pushing them back.

“Got anything to drink?” he asked.

She considered her usual Chardonnay, then remembered something a friend had left behind when she first moved in and that was still here.  She reached deep into the pantry and brought out a square bottle half filled with golden liquid.

Marco had never had real tequila, and he stayed away from the awful imitation found in the warrens.  “Outstanding,” he said, ducking into the habitat.  “Lemme get a glass.”

Priyanka poured a shot into a measuring cup so that Marco could dip his glass, then poured herself a triple and sat down at the kitchen table.  Marco had collected his drink and found a seat on a stack of coasters.

“How long has Kobick had it in for you?” he asked.

“Ever since he took over the command, probably,” she replied.  “Then last year I made the mistake of contradicting him in a regional status report.”

“Whoops.”

“Yeah.  I’ve been alright so long as I get results and didn’t give him any rope to hang me with.”

“And then I called.”

She leaned forward to regard him closely, trying to read his tiny face.  He took a deep drink, hoping to appear aloof to the intense scrutiny.  Then she realized he was ribbing her and let out a sharp laugh.  He thought he had become used to her daunting voice, but the sudden eruption combined with the tequila on her breath almost knocked him over.  His only recovery was to join her in laughing.

“It appears that Mr. Cowan should have put you in contact with a more politically-adept investigator,” she said wryly.

“Priyanka,” he replied with all the earnestness he could find, “Toby may have his faults, but he knew what he was doing.  Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine a better partner in Big Sky than you.”

She straightened up and smiled at him, then drew and released a deep breath.  She raised her glass.  “To Toby.”

“To Toby.”

They did not attempt to clink glasses.  She set her glass down, empty.  “Do you need a refill?” she asked with a smile.

He peered into the measuring cup, which still contained ten subjective gallons.  “I’m good.”

“That you are,” she said.  She was unused to tequila, and she hoped he didn’t notice her slight stumble as she stood up.

“I should write that report now,” she said wearily.

“You know as soon as you file it, he’s going to send me back,” he said.

She looked down, away from him.  Then she looked back, nodding.

“I hope you can find my missing people, Priyanka,” said Marco, and he turned and entered the habitat.

Priyanka stiffened her spine and went to her room and closed the door.

Marco wasn’t used to tequila, either, and his first and second instincts were to crash.  He lay in his bunk for a couple of minutes, but his mind wouldn’t quiet.

He had zero enthusiasm for writing his own report.  Lockeridge wasn’t interested in what he would say, and Kobick cared even less.  But he was determined to do what he could to further the investigation before he was forced to return to the warren.

He sat down at the terminal and laid out all the details of their suppositions, including their inferences regarding Nicole Blythe.  To protect Toby, Marco simply pretended that he had already received the forensic report from his precinct.

Marco’s report also reflected his conviction that Chadwell was behind it all.  He knew this might create further difficulties for Priyanka, but he expected she could take care of herself.

“She’s a big girl,” he slurred to himself.

He stopped typing.  He thought he heard something outside the habitat.  He saved his draft and headed outside.  What he saw stopped him cold.

Priyanka was back in her seat at the kitchen table.  She had removed her tunic, revealing her silken chemise, the top buttons undone.  Most spectacularly, her long hair was flying in every direction.  She had released every braid and tie and run her fingers through the dark curtains and sprays until they moved of their own volition.

Marco felt he was gazing up at a primeval beauty.  At first, her face was uncertain, and he thought he saw her bite her lower lip.  Then she blinked, drew a deep breath and put on an almost mischievous smile.  He found himself slowly walking towards her, her smile widening as she drew him in.  He stopped when he was about eight inches from the table edge, his legs in a broad stance for balance as he leaned his neck back to keep her colossal face in view.

“You said that last night you took a good look at my hair; would you care to touch it?” she asked, her smile changing from impish to courteous.

Even though her ears were now somewhat obscured, he could see that she wasn’t wearing her earpiece, so he knew his voice was unamplified.

“More than anything,” he said in a normal tone, then signaled his assent with a thumbs-up.

She brought her open right palm next to him, and after he stepped into it she cupped him as she brought him to her left shoulder.  He kept his eyes on hers until he was compelled to find a secure perch.

The fabric of her chemise was too sheer, so he stepped inside her collar, standing on the bare skin of her shoulder and putting a hand on her neck for balance.  He needed it, because he paused to take in the many powerful fragrances.  Her hair itself showered and curled around him like thick soft vines, overwhelming him with the scent of citrus.  Her skin had a nuttier smell, and he saw bumps rising on the back of her neck.  Behind it all was the salty tang that he knew was her natural scent.

He reached up and grasped her earlobe.  “It’s so beautiful,” he said, no louder than he had when using his phone.  Priyanka heard his voice tinny but clear.  Marco felt her ear grow warm.

“I could curl up in here and sleep forever,” he said.

“Ready for bed so soon?” she whispered, knowing she didn’t have to speak any louder.

He had already felt her bra strap with his foot, so he found it easily with his hands as he let himself drop over her clavicle and slip under her shirt.  When he stopped himself with his feet on the lower corner of her left bra cup, he leaned back and looked up out of her shirt at her face, which had become more serious since he saw it last.

She raised an eyebrow.  He gave a self-satisfied smile and slipped inside her bra cup.  She watched his shape underneath her shirt for a bit, then closed her eyes and imagined his progress through the feelings in her breast.

At first he lay face down, spread-eagled, listening to her heartbeat and letting her breathing and the bra cup press him into her flesh.  Eventually he slid himself downward, first straddling then sliding over her nipple.  As his legs slipped under her breast, she thought she felt him make a couple of quick thrusts with his pelvis.

Marco could not, of course, fit Priyanka’s entire nipple into his mouth, but she was unprepared for the electric sensations caused by his kissing, sucking, and nibbling on the resilient tip.  She found herself leaning forward as her awareness contracted to her tit.

When Priyanka opened her eyes, Marco was gently nuzzling her nipple with his face, embracing her breast with his entire body.  She exhaled, then leaned back and slowly reached into her bra.  Her fingers closed around his torso, and she lifted him out of her shirt.

Priyanka held Marco so close that he could only look at part of her face at once.  Her mouth was open slightly, and he was entranced when her tongue appeared and glided over first her lower then her upper lip.  He sought the refuge of her wide brown eyes as she brought up her other hand, palm up and fingers pointed out.  Holding him under his arms with just a thumb and index finger, she stood him on her open palm.

“Now, Detective,” she said softly, “If you would care to disrobe, there’s something I’ve been wanting to try.”

She brought her hand even closer and made no attempt to hide how much she was anticipating the show.  He chuckled and shifted his gaze away from her enormous eyes as he started to unbutton his shirt.  She noted the day-old stubble on his chin, explaining some of the curious stimulation she had felt on her nipple.  She thought she could look at his boyish grin all day, but then his shirt came off and there were his shoulders, tiny but decisive.  His abs twisted as he looked for a place to put his shirt.  She crooked her thumb to give him support as he removed his shoes.  She slowly inhaled as he arched his back and removed his pants and briefs, tilting her head slightly to take in the curves of his ass.  His thigh muscles tightened as he lifted his legs out of his pants.  After he dropped the last of his clothes onto her palm, he didn’t know what to do with his hands, and he finally decided to link them behind his head.

He had been hard as hickory since he stepped onto her shoulder and even while he was held defenseless in her palm, his cock stood strong and thick.  Almost a half-inch long, it aimed up at her from a patch of dark hair that extended all the way to his sternum.  She rotated her hand slightly so she could watch his balls sway in and out of the thatch.

With her free hand, Priyanka plucked Marco’s clothes and left them in a pile outside the habitat door.  She picked him up under his arms again and dangled him in front of her face.  Resting his arms on the tips of her thumb and index finger, Marco grinned as she brought him close enough to sniff with nostrils that could accommodate his arms.  Her mischievous smirk returned, and out came her tongue.

Hot and pink and wet, it was at least as big as Marco’s entire body and unquestionably stronger.  She plunged it between his dangling legs then slowly draped the wet muscle over his cock and balls upward to his chest.  Even with his voice unamplified, Priyanka heard his grunt of pleasure loud and clear.

She pulled him away to regard his face, and she was gratified by his gaze of intense yearning.  She lapped him twice more, then twisted him around so she could have his ass.  She poked the soft tip of her tongue between his butt cheeks and as more of her tongue slid through forcing his legs apart, he could feel each of her giant taste buds rubbing his tiny asshole.  She was savoring his ass, but she wanted more.

Priyanka smacked her lips as she leaned back in her chair and lifted Marco over her head.  She tilted her head back, took a deep breath, then opened her mouth wide.  Looking down past his aching cock, Marco could see straight down her gullet.  Her eyes held only hunger.  He yelped with exhilaration and fear as she dropped him into her mouth, her lips catching him as they closed about his torso.  Only his head and right shoulder and arm remained outside.

Her lips’ grip on him was amazingly firm as her tongue slammed into his legs, ass, and back, pressing his body against the roof of her mouth.  She moaned softly as his cock and balls slid across her palate.  Then her tongue and lips relaxed, and he was able to free his left arm.  He pressed his face into her soft upper lip and kissed it, but it tightened and shifted to expose her incisors, which clamped on his chest and back.  Her bite was not unpainful, but he forgot it as her tongue slithered between his legs and she sucked the lower half of his body like a lemon drop.

Priyanka brought her head back upright, and Marco was momentarily on his back until she rolled him over with her tongue.  He now embraced the supple and irresistible instrument of her appetite, burying his face and thrusting his cock into the wet and undulating mattress of muscle.

He came hard, his back arching against her upper teeth and his legs spasming straight on either side of her tongue.  She heard and felt his plaintive moan through her lips on his back and chest.  Only when he relaxed did she realize how tightly he had been clenching her tongue.  He rested his head and shoulders on her lower lip as if it were a pillow, but then he felt her chuckle naughtily and her tongue gathered him entirely into her mouth, her teeth closing to shut him inside the warm blackness.

He grasped at her teeth, but he could find no purchase on the slick stones.  Her tongue writhed and pinned him against her palate, and his feet dropped as he felt her epiglottis fall away to open the passage to her esophagus.  Then his ears popped as she sucked most of the fluids around him down her throat.

She sponged more saliva from his body with her lips as she gently nudged him out of her mouth into her palm with the loving tip of her tongue.  He lay curled up and gasping for half a minute, then rolled onto his back and blinked up at her.

“God, that was fantastic!” he shouted.

“Still fit for duty?” she asked, prompting him to guffaw sharply.  His limp dick was still tender, and he flinched as her fingers curled around him and she stood and carried him into her bedroom.